Sporting an eight-game losing streak, the LA Clippers are looking for something or someone to help them turn things around. The pending return of point guard Patrick Beverley tonight vs. the New York Knicks (7:30 ET, NBA League Pass) may be just the guy to accomplish that task.
The Clippers have been without three starters for the last five games, as starting point guard Milos Teodosic (plantar fascia injury) has been out since the second quarter of Game 2. Danilo Gallinari (strained left glute) has missed the last six games and Beverley (sore right knee) has missed the last five.
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times says the Clippers are more than ready to have Beverley back in the lineup:
Though the stumbling Clippers updated Patrick Beverley’s chance to return Monday night from doubtful to questionable, his teammates seemed certain that the point guard would be back for the game against the Knicks.
After the Clippers lost their eighth consecutive game Saturday night to the Charlotte Hornets, Blake Griffin turned to center DeAndre Jordan inside the team’s quiet locker room and said, “We get Patrick back Monday night and start playing the right way, we will be all right.”
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Beverley, Gallinari and Teodosic are all on this trip with the Clippers. Beverley did some shooting drills and had challenged one of his coaches to a game of one-on-one before the game in Charlotte.
Beverley was averaging 12.5 points in the 10 games he played.
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They are one loss shy of the team’s longest losing streak since the 2010-11 season, when that Clippers team lost nine consecutive games from Nov. 5-20.
